Can I Have This Dance
by ssj hotaru
Summary: When Mimi meets up with Yamato in a bar, will one dance change thier future?


Can I Have This Dance

Ssj_hotaru 

Mimi sat at a corner of the bar, her back to the dance floor and the couples there.  This was a seedy place, a far cry from where she usually went for a drink, filled with smoke and the stomach turning stench of sweat.  But she preferred it to the sweet, clear fragrance of hypocrisy and deceit.

She'd trusted them both, God she was such a fool.

She hunched her shoulders against the emotions reeling within her, knowing that armor did nothing if the threat was locked in side as well.

She stared broodingly at her cure for all ailments, a bottle of Jack Daniels and the biggest candy bar she could find.  It was also the reason she needed to be cured in the first place, she thought bitterly.

_"God you have such a sweet, tight ass."_

The words ripped through her self-esteem like a canon ball.  So she'd gotten a little hippy during their six years of marriage, she'd only gained four pounds; it wasn't her fault it had all migrated to her rear.

She'd almost decided against either remedy, but she just couldn't get the image of her husband and her co-designer out of her mind, his strong, athletic hands cupping the firm cheeks as he appraised them.  

She propped her chin in her palm and contemplated the Jack and chocolate.  To get fat or not to get fat- that was the question.  The fingers of her free hand inched forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you honey."  One of the waitresses advised, passing by with a bucket of dirty dishes.  She was plump with red hair and a splatter of freckles across her nose, merry blue eyes and a beautiful smile that lit up her face like a light bulb.  She might have been quite the heartbreaker if she lost around thirty pounds.  Mimi felt an instant connection with her.

Sighing, she picked at the golden wrapper that had _Symphony_ scrawled across it in blue.  "I know, but I just can't help thinking that a couple of pieces won't hurt."

"Trust me, it will.  I used to think the same way and look at me now.  I sure as hell didn't get this figure at a salad bar."  She nodded down at herself, laughing good-naturedly as she went about her job.

Mimi felt a chill go through her at the thought that she may one day look like that.  If her husband found her undesirable now, what would he feel about that?  He'd be totally repulsed, that's what!

She sighed and pushed the Symphony bar away.  She'd have to learn to like carrots she supposed.

That thought, for reasons unknown even to her, brought tears to her eyes.  She sighed again at the sheer stupidity of it and used her middle finger to discreetly wipe the moisture away, hoping her makeup wasn't smeared.

"Hey Beautiful, never thought I'd see you in a joint like this."  A man said, throwing himself at the stool with all the grace of a cripple falling down the stairs.  She smiled fondly, recognizing the voice immediately.

"Hey yourself."  She glanced at him, appreciating the way his shaggy gold hair fell over one eye, she'd always liked men with messy hair.  

He fit this place, she mused, noting the tight blue jeans and equally tight white shirt that had a stain down the front, mustard looked like.  He sat the stool in a slouch, one leg propped on the bottom bar, the other straight, the tow barely brushing the floor.  A miller bottle dangled loosely from his hand.

Wide shoulders, lean hips, and lots of muscles; Mr. Yamato Ishida was indeed all male.  She wondered not for the first time what business he had to do with her husband who was nothing if not perfect at all times.  She also wondered, definitely for the first time, why she had never noticed how incredibly attractive he was.

"You're man here?"  He asked, his gaze roaming the room, touching each face briefly before returning to hers.

"Nope."  She answered.  Was it a bad thing to fantasize about the sound of the top popping off her Jack Daniels bottle?  For those few seconds, studying Yamato had allowed her to forget about that morning when she'd come back for her dress designs and seen her husband in the passionate embrace of her friend and co-worker.  Well now she knew where the bitch disappeared to, she'd thought, then turned and left without confronting either of them, as she should have.

   And wound up here, staring at a candy bar and a whiskey bottle.

"Good."  He said, jarring her out of her thoughts as he placed his beer on the bar, then, without even a by your leave, put his hands under her armpits and lifted her off the stool as though she were a child.

"What are you doing!"  She sputtered indignantly, gripping his upper arms with her hands as he carried her towards the throng of people on the sawdust floor.

"Asking you to dance, what else?"  He answered, smiling up at her, his eyes teasing.  She wasn't appeased.

"Put me down this instant!" She snapped, trying not to think about the people watching.

"As you wish."  He announced with a rakish grin and slid her slowly downward, her body sliding against his.  As soon as her feet touched the floor, she shoved away from him; he made a move as if to grab her, but she turned and faced him, more than happy to have finally found a target on which she could release her rage.

"Don't touch me!"  She pointed her finger and japed him in the chest.  "I am so sick of men who think they can just snap their fingers and I'll come running, that all they need to do is say so and so it will be.  If you'd wanted to dance, why didn't you just ask?  Was it too hard? Afraid you'd choke? What?"  She started back to the bar and the items that waited there before he could answer.

"Mimi."  She stopped, surprised to the core at the stricken note in his voice.  Slowly, she turned to face him and there was such a depth of feeling in his face that her breath stuck in her throat.  Could all that emotion really be directed at her?

"Dance with me…please?"

Compelled by a force she neither recognized nor wanted to, she placed her hand in his outstretched one and allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace.

She laid her head on his shoulder and was immediately struck by a stab of anxiety- her husband didn't like for her to dance, respectable women didn't dance.

As soon as the feeling struck her, she banished it.  To hell with her husband!  But tears of anger still stung her eyes.  She tried to blink them away before Yamato could see, she couldn't stand for him to know.

"You alright love?"  He asked gently.

"I'm fine."  She told him, struggling to keep the snap out of her voice as he grasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up even as he kept them swaying to the music.

"'Fine' shouldn't make you cry."  

She gazed into his eyes, mesmerized by the intensity there.

"Do those tears have anything to do with why you're here tonight?"  She gave a small nod, still staring up at him.  Why had she never noticed how handsome he was?  Like Adonis. 

"Your husband?"

His accuracy struck a nerve and she dropped her eyes, not wanting him to see how right he was.  Comfortable silence settled between them as they danced, his arms holding her close, making her feel cherished, loved, treasured.  Feelings she hadn't felt in a longer time than she cared to mention. 

Lost in the sensation of his legs brushing hers, the smell of his cologne, the silky feel of his hair, she was hardly aware of the crush of wildly twisting bodies or the faster tempo of the music, she simply held on and moved with him.

Drawn by the force of his gaze, she lifted her head to meet his eyes, instantly lost in the sea of emotions there.

"You have the bluest damned eyes."  She hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud until she saw the grin that tugged at him lips.  She blushed.

"I've wanted this since the first day I saw you."  He said slowly, his face an open book, every emotion he felt at that moment there to read.  She could feel her own welling up in her throat.

"I never knew."  Was the only thing she could think to say.  She'd known him for most of the time she'd been married, he was her husband's friend and business associate.  He came over on holidays, for business, charities, and sometimes just to visit.  She'd always wondered why, he and her husband were so different that she couldn't picture them as friends.  But now, lost in his eyes, she believed she knew.

He thought she was beautiful; it was there for her to see.  In his eyes she wasn't fat, wasn't hippy, he was probably the one person in her whole life who knew her as she really was and still loved her.  

When they'd first met, she'd been newly married and hadn't cared much for his attitude it had been too personal, insolent really, and anytime she'd met him away from the watchful eyes of her husband she'd been rude, sarcastic, and sometimes downright mean and insulting.  And still he'd come around.  It didn't take long before she'd begun to look forward to their meetings.  For the past few years they'd been close friends.

            To learn that he felt so strongly for her, it was humbling.  But she was not immune to him any longer; she'd felt attracted to him when he'd first sat in the stool beside her.  Without the permanent image of her husband clouding her mind, she was able to see him clearly, and she was amazed that she hadn't ran away with him that first day she met him.  God he was beautiful.

            "Do you think…"  She trailed off, not sure exactly what she wanted or how to ask for it.

            "I want a divorce!"  She announced, that was the first time she'd even allowed herself to think of such a thing, but as she said it, she knew in her heart that it was the truth.  "Yes," she repeated with conviction. "I want a divorce."

            Yamato smiled and, if possible, held her even tighter.  Mimi looked up at him, feeling her heart swell with hope.  Perhaps today was the end of her marriage, but she felt that it was the beginning of something much more precious. 

     ***********************************************************************************************__

You Have The Right To Remain Silent 

By: **Perfect Stranger**

**_Can I have this dance my you're looking pretty   
Is there something wrong did he leave you hurting   
I don't mean to pry but that tear in your eye gave you away   
If you don't want to talk we'll keep it quiet   
But sometimes a heartache hurts worse if you hide it   
I think there's a chance one slow dance might ease the pain   
  
You have the right to remain silent   
Anything that you say as I hold you against me   
Will forever be a secret between us two   
I've been wanting you but you didn't know it   
And now that he's gone at last I can show it   
If your heart is tired for the rest of your life   
Lay your love on me   
  
So many times my eyes have held you   
Tonight please give my arms that chance   
If you don't feel the need for conversation   
We'll just let our hearts talk while we dance   
  
You have the right to remain silent   
Anything that you say as I hold you against me   
Will forever be a secret between us two   
I've been wanting you but you didn't know it   
And now that he's gone at last I can show it   
If your heart is tired for the rest of your life   
Lay your love on me   
If your heart is tired for the rest of your life   
Lay your love on me_**


End file.
